The Truth Of It
by Val-Creative
Summary: Holographic pink, purple and blue shine brilliantly against Toni's wrist. During this last summer, Toni insisted they visited a little craft shoppe. She then carefully strung together fuchsia and coral and raspberry and mulberry, slipping it over Cheryl's hand. Maybe that's how to acknowledge she's a lesbian… allowing herself to feel proud. Toni will accept her. She knows it.


**.**

 **.**

Cheryl Blossom insists upon the truth of it — there's no way, and in _no_ conceivable way, for her to be _pining_ away like some other pathetic little loser attending Riverdale High.

She has to keep reminding herself about this, fading out of the classroom lecture, eyeing Toni.

Toni's gum stretches out, twirling daintly around her forefinger.

Her girlfriend decided to go with classic knit leggings and distressed lace-up jean shorts in an elegant black, pulling on dark sunglasses and a platinum, miniature cross-necklace.

Toni's lavender-tinged curls glimmered in the morning sunlight, as she waited patiently in the lot, one of her feet hitched up against her onyx-and-cherry-red motorcycle. Even from a distance, Cheryl glimpsed the peek of Toni's bellybutton as her midnight-colored, loosely fitting croptop slowly inched up.

They're across the room from each other. But it doesn't matter because Toni's perfume, sandalwood and jasmine, wafts around Cheryl and fills all of her senses. It's what she wore the night her and Kevin and Veronica appeared to rescue Cheryl from the Sisters of Quiet Mercy.

It's Cheryl _favorite_ smell of all.

Holographic beads of purple, pink and blue shine brilliantly against Toni's wrist. During this last summer, Toni insisted on getting the collection of bisexual colors for herself from a quaint, craft shoppe while they were on the road in Montana. And then, Toni carefully strung together a collection of pinks, such as fuchsia and coral and raspberry and mulberry, and slipped it over Cheryl's pale hand.

Maybe that's the first step to acknowledging she's a lesbian… _allowing_ herself to feel proud. To feel like _this_ is who Cheryl is. Toni will always accept her. She knows it.

As if feeling out Cheryl's admiring gaze, Toni peers over her shoulder and smiles, snapping her gum returning in her mouth audibly. At the playful, slight wink, Cheryl beams, her cheeks warming. She preens, tossing her red hair and neatly smoothing the hem of her Riverdale cheerleading skirt.

Midge coos quietly from the chair beside Cheryl, resting her chin on her hands and grinning. " _What_?" Cheryl snaps, now frowning at the other cheerleader who doesn't appear at all offended.

"You guys are _so_ cute," Midge says wistfully, tilting her head. "Makes me wish I had a girlfriend."

"Did Moose finally ditch you for Kevin?"

The other girl makes a low, huffing noise, but Midge's grin doesn't falter. "Excuse you," she whispers to Cheryl, practically leaning out of her chair. " _I_ ditched him. Ask Josie and Kevin himself."

Cheryl's frown vanishes, replacing with a close-lipped smirk.

"That's my girl," she coos back, wrapping an arm around Midge and hugging her in a perfunctory motion, but not rejecting her as Midge hugs the other girl a little bit _harder_ and clingier than usual, quivering, pressing her face onto Cheryl's navy-blue, pristine shoulder. Midge is a _Vixen_.

They look out for their girls. Just like the Southside Serpents look out for their own.

Moose doesn't know what'll hit him.

 **.**

 **.**

It's around six pm when Toni reappears, entering the gymnasium. Her lavender, _lovely_ curls gathered into a high ponytail. "Vixens," Cheryl announces, snapping her fingers primly. "Scatter."

Betty and Veronica stare curiously between them, giggling and walking out together, murmuring about a double date at Pop's Diner. Josie nudges Cheryl, flashing a stunning, friendly smile, and then grasps onto Toni's upper arm encouragingly. The other Vixens don't look at either Cheryl or Toni.

"You missed practice."

Cheryl tries to at least _pretend_ to be stern, dabbing off her sweaty, too-flushed face with a towel.

She lifts her nose, refusing to melt immediately under her girlfriend's touch as Toni leans in, earnestly fingering over Cheryl's lesbian-flag bracelet. She runs her fingertips over the surface of Cheryl's palm and sketching tiny, elaborate patterns over her skin repeatedly.

"Sorry," Toni murmurs, tilting her head and staring into Cheryl's light brown eyes. "Grandpa needed help with filing a claim online and kept me for two hours. He doesn't even know how to send a _text_."

Cheryl finds herself leaning in too, draping her arms around Toni's neck, humming,

"Well… I suppose I can be lenient about your punishment, TT. This time." At the mention of _punishment_ , Toni's eyes glimmer with amusement and she kisses Cheryl's jaw dutifully, then kiesses her ruby, matte-slick mouth. Cheryl's tongue pushes flat over Toni's lips. " _If_ you help me," she adds.

"With what?" Toni asks, eyelashes fluttering, and god, she sounds hoarse and wonderful like this.

"Just a ex- _pest_ of Midge's." Cheryl's grin widens malevolently. "We're gonna make him sorry for cheating on her," she declares, basking in Toni raising her eyebrows and nodding in approval.

Lucky for them, Moose has one extreme fear that both Chuck and Reggie have teased him about in the past.

He ends up with a locker full of plastic, rubbery _rats_ , complete with blocks of disgustingly stinky cheese inside his bookbag, and flees from the boy's locker room in the middle of Thursday, shrieking at the top of his lungs. Cheryl gets Jughead to record his sheer embarrassing panic, making it viral for years to come.

Toni rubs a hand over the back of Cheryl's neck, petting into her long, red hair. "We did good?"

"We did _so_ good," Cheryl replies merrily, hooking her arm around Toni's waist.

 **.**

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* * *

 _Riverdale isn't mine. CHONI IS WHERE IT IS AAAAAAT! I LOVE THEM. SO MUCH. I'm more than happy to make this for the Riverdale Secret Santa 2018 and for my giftee charlchen-moonves on Tumblr! I hope my fellow Choni fans popping in enjoy this too! :') And as always please yes any thoughts/comments are so appreciated!  
_


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